1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a regenerative heat exchanger having a heat-exchanging storage medium which is provided with a plurality of flow channels; at each end there is provided a respective hood, which divides the storage medium by means of radial sealing means into at least one portion which receives heat-emitting gases, and at least one portion which receives heat-absorbing gases, with these portions, as a result of a continual relative rotation between the storage medium and the hood, alternately receiving the two types of gases; sealing means are also disposed along the periphery between the hood and a housing which accommodates the storage medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Regenerative heat exchangers of the aforementioned general type are known, with the relative movement between the storage medium and the hood being generated by a rotary drive of either the storage medium or of the hood.
With the heretofore known regenerative heat exchangers, the storage medium is divided into individual sectors with the aid of radial partitions. These radial partitions extend beyond the respective end faces of the storage medium, and their edges cooperate with the radial sealing means which divide the storage medium into at least one portion which receives heat-emitting gases and at least one portion which receives heat-absorbing gases. The sealing means which seal the periphery of the storage medium relative to the hood are also spaced somewhat from the respective end face of the storage medium; these sealing means cooperate with a structure which is provided on a housing accommodating the storage medium.
In order to ensure the sealing effect of the radial sealing means, which sealing effect is necessary during a relative movement between the storage medium and the hood, these radial sealing means have a width which corresponds at least to the width of the respective sector, so that between the flow of the heat-emitting gas and the heat-absorbing gas there is always one sector in the storage medium which does not receive gas.
Not only do these heretofore known embodiments of regenerative heat exchangers have the drawback of having a large structural height as a result of the partitions and housing structures which extend beyond the storage medium, but they also require a complicated and expensive configuration of the support body and of the housing for the storage medium, because these parts must be relied upon for the sealing effect. Finally, the sealing means themselves also have a complicated and expensive construction, so that the flow for the two gases is unfavorably affected. A further critical drawback is that the heat-exchanging heating surfaces of the storage medium must be cleaned with cleaning or rinsing fluid from time to time because especially the leading edges of the flow channels embodied in the storage medium become dirty or even clogged. When such clogging occurs, it can normally no longer be eliminated by cleaning fluid, so that it is necessary to stop the regenerative heat exchanger and mechanically clean the leading edges.
An object of the present invention is to improve a regenerative exchanger of the aforementioned general type in such a way that together with simplification of the construction and reduction of the space required, it is no longer necessary to periodically mechanically clean the leading edges of the storage medium.